VIDEO: Bridgewater Little League celebrates winning state title
Bridgewater American locked up the Massachusetts Little League state title on Sunday.
Although Bridgewater American’s 12U Little League’s season didn’t end with a regional title or a trip to Williamsport, it was a historic season that players, coaches, and their families will remember forever.
This year’s team became the first ever to win the state title and advance to the New England regional tournament in the history of Bridgewater Little League.
It was a roller coaster ride, full of many ups and some occasional downs, but one thing that remained consistent for Bridgewater manager Rich Florence, was the joy he had in coaching the team throughout the summer.
“It was a group of kids that really care about one another,” Florence said. “It made it very enjoyable to coach, because we were all pulling in the same direction and that led to team success.”
Bridgewater first beat Plymouth to win the Massachusetts District 7 championship back on July 10 to advance to sectionals. The team kept rolling 10 days later, beating Braintree in a rematch to claim the Section 2 crown, then beating Acton-Boxboro on July 28 to claim the program’s first ever state title.
After starting the regional tournament off with a bang, a 9-0 win over Vermont champion Burlington, the luck ran out for Bridgewater, falling to New Hampshire and 2024 regional champion Salem, 4-3.
But like they had all season, the players kept fighting to the very last out, nearly pulling off a late comeback after trailing 4-1 in the fifth.
Florence said the experience taught some valuable lessons to his players.
“It was bigger than baseball. They had amazing life experiences along the way. In life, you’re going to face adversity,” Florence said. “We faced adversity the whole summer and we weren’t perfect ever this year. We lost games along the way, but we always battled back.
“Eventually, we ran out of luck in the end, but that’s what life is like. I told them to take that lesson and when you face adversity in life, remember this.”
Two instances of that adversity came during the sectional and state tournaments. In back-to-back weeks, Bridgewater beat the team it had lost to in pool play to claim the sectional and state titles.
Florence said coming into the summer, the goal was to finally break through and win districts. The 12U team had lost in the district championship two years in a row.
But Florence and his players were determined to make this year different, and they succeeded in more ways than they could have imagined.
“We lost the District 7 championship two years in a row, so our goal was to win that, and everything else was just the icing on the cake,” Florence said.
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Throughout the summer, Florence and the Bridgewater coaching staff emphasized making sure the kids were enjoying the game, staying loose, and not taking themselves too seriously.
“The most important thing was keeping this a fun game for them, never letting the game turn into a job or a stress,” Florence said. “I feel like our coaching staff did a really good job of keeping it fun, keeping it loose.”
Florence said that one of his favorite memories from this summer came off the field at a swimming pool in Bristol as the kids jumped into the water off the diving board, attempting their best cannonballs and other crazy tricks.
In other words, 12-year-olds being 12-year-olds. But for Florence, that memory stood out as it went back to the coaches’ philosophy of keeping it fun.
“That was probably one of my favorite memories of the whole entire run because they look like big, bad, tough baseball players on the field, but then you put them in a pool and they’re a bunch of goofy 12-year-olds trying to do tricks,” Florence joked. “It kind of keeps things in perspective.”
From appearing on ESPN for three games, to winning three different titles, it was a season that Bridgewater’s players won’t soon forget.
Florence said that he hopes the experience is just the start for all of his players and for them to use it as a springboard as they continue their baseball journeys.
